


Her Father's Daughter

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Angst, Drama, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 10:48:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/797749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><br/>Summary: It's been five years since Blair's daughter first came to live with Jim and Blair, and she has the same unlucky way of attracting trouble as her father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Father's Daughter

## Her Father's Daughter

#### by PB

  
  
Disclaimer: No, I flatly refuse to disclaim. So there!   
  
  
Author's Notes: This sequel was written very shortly after Be My Baby, and was another one that I forgot to post or archive after it appeared in My Mongoose. Thanks to Patt for the formatting and beta, also to Aly and Mary for the beta work. To anyone else who may have beta'd, but I've forgotten to mention, thank you!   
  
Story Notes: This should almost be called a first-time story because all they did in the previous one was kiss, but since they were a couple now, I didn't classify it as such. There be steamy sex ahead in this one, folks (enough to make up for the lack of it in Be My Baby).   
This story is a sequel to: Be My Baby

* * *

Her Father's Daughter - PB 

* * *

Sequel to Be My Baby. 

It was shaping up to be another fine Friday afternoon in Huntington Park, a nice little upscale neighborhood place where parents could bring their young children to experience nature in their own back yards, so to speak. The small, but beautifully landscaped area had all the amenities of the larger city parks, but with less hassle, as it was privately maintained by the residents of the neighborhood who paid fees to use it. 

There were large stone walls surrounding the twenty acre plot of land, with two gated entrance/exit areas where members showed their cards to get in and a small parking lot just inside the gates for those who drove there. What else could one expect from the affluent citizens on this end of Cascade? Jim Ellison certainly never expected to be one of them again, living in his old neighborhood, in his old _house_ even. Yet, here he was, sitting on a blanket in the exclusive little park his own father helped establish all those years ago. `Oh, to have come so far and traveled the world, only to end up right back in the house where you spent your first Christmas - what a concept,' Jim thought. 

Had it been only five years since Blair received the surprise of a lifetime? An old girlfriend named Chloe showed up on the loft's doorstep with her four month old infant (who, incidentally, was also _Sandburg's_ four month old infant), Sarah. Before that day Jim would have laughed out loud if someone had told him he'd be raising his best friend's baby in the house he grew up in. Funny how things work out. He and Blair had finally managed to figure out the love each man was feeling for the other wasn't as unrequited as it appeared. Then, after Chloe's untimely death, they decided that Jim would adopt Sarah, and they would move to a house to raise her. 

At first, the detective couldn't understand why his lover wanted him to adopt Sarah since Blair, as the biological father of record, only needed to assume custody of the child to have her - no legal mumbo jumbo, no hoops to jump through, etc. Then Blair had patiently explained his reasoning. "Jim, I want us to be a real family. I'm already her father by birth, and the state of Washington isn't enlightened enough to allow us to adopt her as a couple." Jim nodded, understanding the logic so far, as Blair continued. "If you're her adoptive father and I'm her biological father, then we're both technically her dads. Each of us will have a claim on her - me, biologically, and you, legally." 

"But you wouldn't have any legal rights regarding her, Chief. You'd have to give those up for me to adopt because, as you pointed out, Washington won't let us adopt together," Jim replied, still a little perplexed that this man would give up his claim to the daughter he adored. 

Blair just smiled and took Jim's hand in his own. "I love you, Jim. I know I can trust you not to make any decisions about her welfare without my consent, and I know you won't try to take her from me. My relationship with you is forever, and I believe you will always treat me as though I'm her legal father, too. I've never trusted anyone the way I trust you." The older man didn't think he had ever been so moved by anything in his life as he was by those words and the act of allowing him to adopt Sarah. 

"I swear to you, I'll never make you regret your decision, and I'll work to keep that trust for the rest of my life," Jim vowed, tears prickling the insides of his eyelids as he fought to regain his composure. 

As soon as the adoption was completed, Blair and Jim decided to have a commitment ceremony, and William Ellison had volunteered his own backyard for the festivities. Apparently, the elder Ellison and young Mr. Sandburg had been corresponding via email ever since meeting on the case with the serial killer who was taking up where his father had left off. If that wasn't the biggest surprise of Jim's life, he didn't know what was. His father and his lover had become fast friends. But then, Blair could charm anyone, why not his old man? Jim still got a chuckle thinking about the day of their ceremony. 

After everyone had gone home except the grooms, little Sarah, and senior Ellison, William asked his son and new son-in-law to have a seat. "Well, Jimmy," he began, pretending not to notice the slight wince Jim exhibited at the nickname. "Blair tells me you two, er sorry, you _three_ " (he reached down to caress the face of his newly adopted grandchild as she lay sleeping in her carrier), "Are looking for a house to raise my new grandchild in." At his son's affirmative nod, he continued. "Well, I know the perfect place. You see, this house has just gotten too big for me to keep rattling around in, and Sally has finally decided to retire. I'd be alone here, and I wouldn't much like it. 

That's why I've bought myself one of those retirement condos a few blocks away. You know, the ones they just built - large rooms with fireplaces and balconies - with all the latest amenities." At Jim and Blair's affirmative nods he continued. "A single monthly fee gets all the utilities, maid service, and delivery service to take your dry-cleaning or whatever wherever you want it to go. There's also up to three meals a day catered right to your door from the little restaurant they have on site (it's nice, too, no cafeteria fare), and a host of other things that make living a little easier for someone my age and station in life." William tried not to sound pompous, but fell a bit short of the mark. 

"Oh, Mr. Ellison, I think I know what you're saying here, but there's just no way," Blair began, really wishing he was wrong because he would love to bring up his little girl in this beautiful house. "Even if you were to sell us the house at a reduced rate we still wouldn't be able to afford it." "Would you want it if you could afford it?" William asked quietly. 

"Oh, absolutely!" the younger man exclaimed, and then looked at Jim sheepishly. "Um, that is if Jim wanted it, too. Now that we've `tied the knot,' as they say, I guess I need to get used to this whole making-decisions-together thing." He grinned, and Jim returned the smile and reached to clasp his lover's hand. 

"Well, Jimmy?" his father inquired. 

"Sure, Pop," Jim answered. "I mean it's a great place - lots of room and a nice yard, not to mention a terrific neighborhood - what's not to like?" 

"It really is a beautiful home, Mr. Ellison," Blair chimed in. "Please don't think our refusal has anything to do with that." 

"Blair, if you don't feel comfortable calling me Dad //which is fine with me, by the way, //then please call me William or Bill. All this `Mr. Ellison' stuff is a little formal considering you just married my son in my back yard." At his son-in-law's grin, he continued. "And I wasn't offering to sell you the house ... I want to give it to you as a wedding gift." At Blair and Jim's identical shocked expressions, the older man explained. "Blair, I know it was your influence that made Jim decide he wanted to try and have a better relationship with me and Stephen again, and because of you, I now have my very first grandchild. I only want to give something back to you for all you've done for my family." 

"Mr. ... um, Bill, I really didn't do that much. Jim makes his own decisions about family, and I don't have nearly as much influence as you think," Blair replied, clearly stunned, and not knowing what to do with the elder Ellison's offer. 

Jim snorted, "Yeah, right, Chief, you have no influence at all over anything I do." Then he laughed outright as his father joined him and Blair blushed. 

"Okay," he replied above their laughter. "Maybe I have a little influence - just a smidge." He held up his hand, thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart to illustrate his point about his miniscule part in Jim's decision making processes. Then he gave up and joined in the guffaws at the obvious understatement. After the laughter died down, Jim looked at his mate with a serious expression, and asked his opinion on the subject still up in the air. 

"Pops is right, Blair. You did have a lot to do with the rekindling of my relationships with him and Steve. If you want it, I'm up for accepting his offer. I say we take the house," the detective said with finality, but knew the final decision would be his partner's. 

"You're serious, man?" Blair asked. "You'd really be okay with that?" At Jim's solemn nod, Sandburg turned to his new father-in-law. "When can we move in?" he beamed. 

Jim still remembered that day, now a little over five years earlier, like it was yesterday. He smiled warmly as he saw his lover coming over to greet him and Sarah, where they sat on a picnic blanket under a tree. The younger man was limping slightly, and Jim couldn't resist a little teasing. 

"How'd it go with the doc, Chief? You gonna live?" he snickered as soon as Blair was in hearing range. 

"Jackass," Blair replied under his breath, knowing the sentinel could hear him, but his child could not. Aloud, he continued. "Yeah, just a few stitches. Only _I_ could get bitten on the as--uh, backside by a beaver - a _beaver_ , Jim! Why do drug dealers always have such weird pets?" 

Sarah giggled. "You just said `ass,' and I heard you," she said in a sing-song voice. Jim suppressed a chuckle and Blair sighed. 

"Yes, I did, honey, and that was wrong," he apologized. "Jim, I'll never live this down." He shook his head, sadly. "Simon said my ... injury ... had to be detailed in the official report. Cops are gonna be passing that story around a hundred years after I'm dead," he whined, not caring in the least how it sounded. 

"If it had been a _dog_ this never would have happened - a nice pit bull, maybe," he continued to grouse. "Dogs respect me; I think it's my animal spirit. They relate to my lupine side with a kind of shared ancestry thing." 

Jim just looked dumbfounded. "Then why do cats always attack me?" the older man inquired. 

"Simple," came the swift reply, as Blair sat very carefully on his tender bottom. "Dogs and wolves are _pack_ animals, Jim. Cats don't play by the same rules. They're more finicky about who they hang with." Satisfied with his answer, Blair started rummaging around in the picnic basket, looking for an unopened bottle of water. When he found it, he unscrewed the top and took a swig. 

"You're so full of it, Sandburg," came the instant rejoinder. Blair just giggled. 

"What's he full of, Daddy Jim?" asked Sarah, prompting an immediate bark of laughter from Blair and a flinch from Jim. `Damn that kid's inquisitive nature,' the older man thought, not for the first time. 

"Yeah, `Daddy Jim,' tell her what I'm full of," Blair prompted, nudging the older man's jean-clad leg with his foot. With a forced smile in his lover's direction that clearly proclaimed, `I'm gonna get you later,' Jim answered the child with the only response he could think of at that moment. 

"Obfuscations, Princess, he's just chock full of obfuscations." Blair nearly choked on his water from laughing so hard, which naturally set Jim off. The two men were so engrossed in their private joke that they almost missed the precocious child's follow-up query. 

"What's `obfu...scations?'" she repeated carefully, pausing to make sure she pronounced the word correctly. 

Blair gave Jim a pointed look - busted! Ellison sniffed regally and replied, "Look it up, sweetheart." Then he added for good measure, "Daddy Blair will help you with the spelling if you need it." 

The younger man snickered, but held his tongue. Sarah, who had been able to read from the time she was two years old, sighed and slumped her shoulders. She always hated that answer, but Daddy Blair was the one who usually used it on her; he used to be a teacher, and they were like that. `Why so much work just to learn one little -- well okay, this time kind of big -- word? Couldn't anything in life just be handed to you?' she pondered. It was okay, though. The only reason Daddy Jim ever told her to look words up was when he didn't really want her to know what they meant, so this time she'd remember to actually do it ... right in front of him. `Humph, that ought to teach him to use big words, knowing she wouldn't know them, then not tell her what they meant,' she decided. At that moment, she looked at Daddy Blair and knew, just knew, that he understood what she was thinking. He grinned and nodded; she returned both. 

The connection the father and daughter had was quite unusual. It couldn't strictly be called telepathy because neither could access the other's thoughts, per se. However, it was damned close. Often one or the other would be upset (usually Sarah), or hurt (almost always Blair), and the other would know immediately - not precisely what was wrong, just that _something_ wasn't right, and whether the cause was physical or emotional. When his daughter had a nightmare, Blair was aware of it even before his sentinel awoke to any noise she might make or her elevated heart rate, and when she felt anything very strongly, the guide seemed to understand what was going on in her head. That had spooked Jim a bit at first, but he tended to be glad of it now. It meant that whenever he was with one of the two most beloved people in his life, he could have a sort of rudimentary monitor on the other one. That was just fine with this sentinel. 

The parents and their child stayed under the tree enjoying each other's company until just before dusk. Several other `regulars' passed them, most stopping to say something before moving on to rest spots of their own. The two cops and the beautiful little girl were a fixture at the park, and most of the other parents were aware of the unconventional make-up of the household, but no one seemed to mind, or if they did, they kept to their own counsel about it. Many were just happy to have two members of Cascade's finest living in their midst. Somehow, they felt it inoculated their neighborhood against crime. Jim would have assured them differently if asked, but no one inquired. 

Suddenly Sarah grabbed Blair's hand and pulled hard. 

"What is it, Princess?" he asked, frowning at the distress evident on her pretty face. Her Sandburg-blue eyes were wide, and her long chestnut curls were billowing around her face, giving the child a somewhat lost look. She gestured toward some thick bushes and spoke. 

"You see the man over there with the camera?" she whispered. Blair nodded; he hadn't noticed the guy earlier, but he certainly did now. A little shorter than Jim, but taller than Blair, weighing in at about 160 pounds, he had stringy, collar length dark blond hair and a pock-marked face. Blair noticed he wore glasses, which were pushed up on his head allowing him to look through the lens of a very expensive camera, complete with an enormous, obviously very powerful zoom lens - a camera that was currently pointing right at Sarah. Detective Sandburg, the father, was not the happiest of campers at that moment, but he wouldn't frighten his daughter with too much concern.. 

"Yeah, I see him. Do you know him?" he queried, trying to sound nonchalant, and almost succeeding - almost. If the little girl noticed the worry in his tone, she didn't show it. Jim, however, standing a few feet away, folding the picnic blanket did notice. He immediately tuned in to the conversation more closely. The sentinel also noticed his guide casting a glance in his direction to make sure he was hearing this. Jim nodded slightly to show that he was. 

"I don't know him, but I've seen him around here taking pictures of me lately." Blair bit his lip and nodded, urging the child to continue. "He even tried to talk to me yesterday when I was here with Margie, but I remembered what you said about not talking to anybody I don't know, and I ran away from him." The young father's teeth were nearly drawing blood from his abused lip, and Jim had ceased his folding and walked over to the pair. The photographer had had enough sense to walk rapidly away when Blair and his daughter had looked in his direction. The sentinel had gotten a brief look, but it was enough - that was a face he wasn't likely to forget anytime soon - the man who had an all too familiar interest in his daughter would not stay unidentified for long. If the guy had a picture on file anywhere the detective could access, it would be plastered on the desk of every cop in major crime very soon. This little voyeur had no idea about the shit storm that was gonna rain down on him. Ellison flashed a predatory grin at the thought. 

"I was gonna tell Margie, but by the time I got over to her, the man was gone," the child said dejectedly. "I guess I should have told you, but I forgot by the time I got home." She smiled apologetically. Blair decided to talk to Margie as soon as the trio got home. 

Margie had been a godsend to the two working fathers. With their combined salaries, not to mention the profits from the sale of the loft _and_ the fact they hadn't had to buy a new house, Jim and Blair had been able to hire a full-time nanny for their child. She lived in the suite of rooms that Sally, the former house-keeper, had occupied, situated on the first floor at the back of the house. This afforded her a nice living space with a kitchenette and bath, and gave Blair and Jim their privacy in the upstairs master bedroom, although `privacy' was a somewhat fluid term with a five year old in the house. 

The plump little woman in her mid-forties had a vast amount of childcare experience, although she'd never married and had no kids of her own, and was a delight to be around. She adored the beautiful little girl, who everyone said looked more and more like her father every day. And she did, too - the small, slightly upturned nose, big blue eyes, full, well-formed lips, and long dark curls made for one breath-taking little princess. Jim still couldn't fathom how features that made his lover look so beautiful and _masculine_ , could simultaneously be so prettily feminine on his little girl's countenance. 

It would upset the nanny terribly to find out some strange man was trying to approach Sarah, but she had to be told. Neither Blair nor Jim doubted her ability, even at 5'2" tall and 155 pounds, to defend their child from anyone trying to do harm. The guy had better _hope_ he only encountered Jim or Blair the next time he came sniffing around; if he ended up with Margie, he'd find himself in the ER, having his expensive camera extracted from his rectum. Yes, she would definitely keep a sharp eye out for predators. 

~~o)0O0(o~~ 

The moment the little family got home, Blair went in search of Margie and told her about their photographer. She was intensely apologetic, but Blair assured her that he and Jim hadn't noticed the man either, until Sarah pointed him out. Since both men were cops, and Jim, a sentinel, they could not expect her to be more observant than they had been. 

Margie had been informed about Jim's abilities after working for the men for two years (she started one month after the family moved into the Ellison home), and earning their trust. She hadn't been at all surprised, remembering the media hoopla about Blair's dissertation prior to his press conference, and noticing little things that Jim saw or heard that no one else did. However, she had decided to let them tell her when they felt they could trust her. (Sarah had also been told about Daddy Jim's special talents as soon as she had been deemed old enough to understand about keeping secrets.) 

With new mission orders given and accepted, the nanny vowed that no one would be getting any more snapshots of their little princess any time soon. She would also let Blair know if the man dared to try to talk to the child again. She'd dial 911 on her cell phone and guard Sarah with her life until they arrived. Margie also promised to call Blair or Jim immediately after 911. Sandburg was reminded yet again of why they had hired the woman. She was very no-nonsense about her responsibilities toward her charge. 

After a scrumptious casserole prepared by Blair (he and Jim still rotated cooking nights, while Margie preferred to eat her own meals in her rooms), and a little Disney Channel viewing, it was time for all five year olds to be in bed and all daddies to have some `alone time.' So both men tucked Sarah in, and Daddy Jim read her a bedtime story (on Blair's night to cook, Jim did the reading, and vise versa). She was off in dreamland before the sentinel was half done with the tale, so Jim left to get his lover `tucked in' as well. 

"Hey," Jim whispered seductively as he wrapped his arms around Blair from behind and nuzzled the younger man's ear. The guide, who had been removing the comforter from their bed, stopped what he was doing and leaned back into the embrace, smiling. Jim swayed them gently back and forth, just enjoying the closeness and filling his senses with his partner and lover. 

"Hey, yourself," he replied huskily. "Hmm, I see you have a problem here," he teased, wriggling his backside against his lover's rapidly hardening cock. 

"Why yes, I do, now that you mention it," Jim quipped, thrusting toward the wiggling ass. "Are you the solution?" he asked knowingly. 

Blair turned in the older man's arms and pulled back far enough to start unbuttoning Jim's shirt. "I'm your lifetime solution to this problem," he responded, letting his hand slide down to cup the larger man's erection through his pants. When Jim groaned at the contact, Blair just smiled wickedly and raised his hand again to continue in the unbuttoning process. 

"Tease," Jim grumped. 

"Hey, I'm not teasing, I'm removing clothing, see?" Blair pulled Jim's now open shirt out of the taller man's pants to illustrate his point. Then he backed away and reached up to undo his own shirt. "But if you think that's teasing, and you don't want to be undressed, well I guess I'll just take my own clothes off and go to bed," Blair said with mock petulance and a protruding lower lip pout that was sure to send his mate into orbit. It sent the older man into the jungle instead. 

"Get over here," Jim growled and pulled his lover roughly into his arms for a mind-numbing kiss. It was neither sweet nor gentle, but claiming and possessing, with a force that made Blair almost pant with need for more like it. He loved it when Jim got all primal on him. He leapt into the kiss with wild abandon, tongue dueling with his lover's and hands roaming and grasping almost viciously at any fabric that impeded a connection to the flesh. 

When they broke apart, both were breathing like they had just run a marathon, and the lust that shone from sky blue to indigo eyes was unmistakable. The rest of their clothing was removed with brutal efficiency while the two sets of eyes stayed locked on each other. Jim completed his disrobing process first and ripped the comforter that Blair had abandoned the rest of the way off the bed, slinging it in the general direction of the big chair near the window. His aim was off, but he didn't notice. The only thing his eyes could perceive was his naked partner, now reclining on the pillows with a come hither expression. 

"How do you want me, tonight, Baby?" Jim inquired in a sultry tone, as he crawled toward his lover on the king sized bed. 

"In me," the younger man replied, stretching languidly, giving the sentinel a sensual feast for the eye. 

Blair was generally the `top' in their relationship, in more ways than one, which Jim liked just fine. However, the junior partner liked to be claimed by the senior every now and then, and when he did, he also liked to be visibly marked at the tender flesh on his throat, so he could look in the mirror and relive the experience for days. It was a special treat that Blair allowed himself only once or twice a month, and he liked to carry the memory with him as long as possible. Besides, Jim loved to look at his handiwork on his partner's neck whenever possible. It was the closest thing Blair could do to wearing a sign around his neck that said, "Property of James Ellison, Sentinel of the Great City, DO NOT TOUCH!!" 

"So I guess the question is `how do _you_ want _me_ , Big Man?" Blair asked saucily. Using that nickname in bed always sent his lover into overdrive. He knew what the answer would be, but he liked to ask anyway, just to see Jim's face when he did. 

"Face me?" Jim requested, right on cue. 

"Mmm, my favorite way, Lover," the tempting young man replied with a groan. Jim had said a while back that listening to Blair's voice was the best foreplay around, and the older man loved being called sexy names in bed. Blair played his role with gusto. "Want to get me ready, or would you rather watch me do myself?" He writhed a little under Jim's gaze. 

"Want to touch you too much to wait," came the breathy reply. "Need to do it myself," Jim pronounced. 

"Yeah, wanna feel your fingers in me," Blair began, happy with the wanton reaction to his words and tone. "Gets me all hot for the rest of you," he purred, continuing the sweet torture to the sentinel's ears. 

Having dispensed with condoms years earlier, after mutually negative HIV tests and frank discussions about prior partners and the protective measures taken with them, and agreeing to have a permanent and monogamous relationship, Jim opened the bedside table drawer and drew out the tube of raspberry flavored lubricant. It was Blair's favorite, but Jim was fond of the sweet-tart taste as well. The older man coated his fingers liberally and added a hefty amount to his burgeoning erection. Blair continued his verbal seduction while he watched his mate ready himself. 

"That's it, Lover," he coaxed. "Use a lot for me. You know I need it `cause you're so big and hard right now." Jim stopped for a moment to pull himself together at his lover's words; he knew he was right on the brink and wouldn't last much longer. Blair saw and understood what was happening so he backed off on the vocal assault for a moment to let his mate regain composure. 

"Better now?" Blair queried with amusement after a few moments of remaining silent and rubbing small circles on Jim's shoulders to calm him. Jim nodded and smiled predatorily. 

"Just you wait and see, Junior," he growled, huskily. "Just you wait." 

Blair took the bait and resumed his foreplay full force. "Ooooh, but I don't wanna wait," he groaned and stretched again under Jim's weight. "Want your big, hard cock buried deep inside me, _right now_!" he cried out with feigned despair, pausing for effect on each word. "So hard for you," the onslaught continued. "Need you to fill me up! Want you sooo bad," he nearly screamed. 

"You're gonna get me, Baby, oh yeah," Jim moaned frantically. He finished stretching his partner's opening and proceeded to enter him with a gentleness that belied his current over-excited condition. Blair was silent for a moment, and then gasped lightly, clearly enjoying the sensation of being filled. 

When completely sheathed within his lover's body, Jim began kissing the younger man's lips as though they held the fount of all things erotic. At first, it was just a tender touch of lips on lips. Then the sentinel teased the yearning mouth of his mate open with the tip of his questing tongue and mapped the luscious interior. The taste of cinnamon toothpaste erupted on sensitive taste buds, and below that, the casserole they had shared earlier that evening. Blair's tongue was not idle either; it danced against Jim's, touching and teasing, in an erotic little waltz of flavor and stimulation. 

Blair needed more, and broke the tantalizing kiss to tell his lover so. "Harder, Jim, please," he begged. "You know I won't break." Jim, always mindful of his ability to hurt the smaller man with his strength, capitulated with the request. He began thrusting harder and faster, and then encircled his hand around his lover's erection and began a rough stroking rhythm. 

"Is this what you need, Baby?" Jim croaked out, barely capable of rational thought, much less speech. 

"Oh yeah, Jim," Blair crooned. "That's it, just like that." He felt himself racing toward completion, and could do nothing to stop it, wishing he could sustain the sensation a little longer, but knowing it was a futile hope. "Do it, Lover! Put your mark on me, right now!" he yelled, knowing Jim would understand and deliver. The older man bent his head down and sucked hard on his mate's throat at the juncture where neck meets shoulder. Blair nearly screamed his orgasm, as the warm fluid coated his chest as well as Jim's. 

The tightening of muscles surrounding Jim's cock spurred his own release deep inside his partner. Totally spent, he withdrew and flopped onto his back, pulling Blair on top of him and placing a tender kiss on the younger man's sweaty brow. "I love you so much, Blair," he sighed contentedly. 

"Mmm, love you right back, Jim," Blair replied, yawning, nearly asleep already. Jim reached down to pull the covers over them, and then both men fell into dreamless slumber, secure in each other's arms, Blair acting as human blanket over his lover's torso. Life was sweet and all was well in the Ellison-Sandburg household. 

~~o)0O0(o~~ 

Instead of sleeping in that Saturday morning, Jim decided to do a little checking on his computer. He logged on and paid a visit to the Huntington Park website. The detective knew the shutterbug had to have paid dues to get in, unless he scaled the stone walls or bribed one of the gate guards -- not likely since he didn't look athletic enough to have made the climb or bold enough to approach one of the burly men. However, he hadn't looked wealthy enough to afford the hefty membership payment, either - the detective even surmised the state of the art camera equipment had been obtained through less than legal means. 

While the park passes didn't require a picture, thus enabling nannies to escort their charges in without a hassle (children under 12 were not allowed in without adult supervision), photos were taken upon payment of dues. The images were then scanned into the `Meet Your Neighbors' section of the park's website. In just a couple of clicks, Jim found what he'd been looking for - a picture of Sarah's stalker. 

The man's name was Hubert Filcher. Jim could only imagine the teasing a moniker like Hubert would garner in the average American high school. The address portion of the listing was deemed `unavailable.' `Damned privacy laws,' Ellison thought. However, now that he had a name (and it had to be real - who, beside one of those crazy fan-fiction writers from one of Blair's weird mailing lists, would make up a name like that?), the detective had other ways of finding Hubert, the happy baby watcher. 

With two mouse-clicks, Ellison was signing in to the `law enforcement and support personnel only' page of the Cascade PD's official Internet site. In short order, he found the information that he had been dreading. Filcher had been arrested ten years before on charges of molestation against his four year old niece, but had been sentenced to an unspecified amount of time in a local mental institution in lieu of prison. After only four years, he was pronounced `cured' by his doctors. After which he was promptly picked up and questioned twice for loitering around an elementary school, taking pictures of little girls. `I guess the cure didn't take,' thought Jim ruefully. 

Recently, Hubert had also been hauled in and interrogated in the ... whoa, that was the case Taggart and Conner were currently investigating. Captain Banks had originally planned to give that one to his best team, but the politicos downtown thought having a captain as the primary on the case would look better to the press in such a high profile situation. That's how poor Joel ended up with it. Now it looked as though Ellison and Sandburg would have a hand in the bust after all. 

Missy Hampstead was a pretty little raven haired child who had been abducted in the park near her home in the historic section of downtown Cascade. The area had recently been subject to a myriad of renovations by wealthy, upwardly mobile young couples looking to invest in real estate. Several people had made remarkable progress in turning the old, run-down businesses and historic homes in that section into lovely showplaces reminiscent of a bygone era. A lot of money had been poured into that area, and no small amount of the financing had been through a company owned by Jason and Paulette Hampstead. 

The lack of ransom demand for so well-heeled a family had set off alarm bells with the investigating officers, and they had decided to bring in several known pedophiles with tastes that ran to waif-like, dark-haired beauties between the ages of four and seven years. Hubert Filcher had been one in a disgustingly long line of sickos fitting the profile. Jim was beginning to think they needed a closer look at him, if only to scare the guy away from Sarah. The detective logged off the computer and immediately called his captain at home with the results of his research. After that, he went to inform Blair and Margie of the plan Jim and Simon had formulated to catch the sleazy little pervert. 

~~o)0O0(o~~ 

If she was nervous about her `assignment,' Margie Dupree didn't show it. Considering it was her first time participating in a Cascade PD covert sting operation, the nanny seemed remarkably calm. Only Jim could hear the rapid staccato of her heartbeat indicating she was anything but. The plan was for her to take Sarah to the park as usual that Monday morning. All around her, Cascade's finest were casually patrolling the area, some hidden in the ample foliage, others sitting on benches, conversing quietly, or playing Frisbee. Rafe even brought his dog for more realism. 

As soon as Hubert arrived, Margie would give a signal, and the officers would watch and follow him back to his house. They had previously brought him in for questioning on the Hampstead case from work, but the home address he had given had proved to be phony when checked out. Then, when the investigators returned to his place of employment to inquire about the phony home address, they found their suspect had quit without notice or a place to forward his final paycheck, and disappeared. That, coupled with the new information that he had been stalking the daughter of a cop, made them interested in taking a second look at him as a suspect in Missy's abduction. They didn't want to apprehend him in the park, however, because they wanted to see if he had the little girl stashed in his home. 

Everything seemed to be going along fine. Filcher didn't disappoint the troops by not showing up. However, he did do something that caused all the plans to go awry, and he almost got himself killed by several enraged members of major crime and one hell-on-wheels nanny. Things just never seemed to go down easy for Sandburg and Ellison, and Sarah Sandburg (even though Ellison was her adoptive parent, Blair and Jim had decided to change her name to Sandburg in order to keep that connection to her biological father), seemed to have inherited her father's knack for finding trouble in the most unexpected venues. 

~~o)0O0(o~~ 

Hubert Filcher had decided today was the day. He had been taking pictures of his new little angel for weeks. She was a perfect replacement for the one he would have to get rid of soon. Missy Hampstead was just too high profile. This time he had chosen a girl whose abduction would either not be investigated at all, or would be blamed on the gay pervert fathers. Police were notoriously biased about same sex couples, and he knew the moment he'd seen the little girl with the two men, who were obviously together that way, that the cops would push this case to the back burner, and he could keep this lovely treasure of a child for as long as he wanted. Now all he had to do was get her. 

The pedophile had tried the week before, but Sarah, as he had heard her nanny call her, had run away before he got the chance to talk her into coming with him. Well, today he wouldn't bother with talk; he'd just grab her and be off. There was an adorable eight week old Samoyed pup in his van, waiting to greet her and help keep her quiet (he would threaten to kill it if necessary - that always worked - but he'd rather not frighten her if he didn't have to). Maybe playing with the dog would keep her mind off what was happening to her. Little girls that age tended to get so excited about puppies that they forgot the rules about going places with strangers. Most parents didn't drill that point into their children's heads as often as they needed to do so; it was something that needed to be repeated time and again, not just told once and assumed remembered. 

Filcher hadn't done his research carefully enough; he had no idea he was dealing with two cop fathers who had told their little one at least once a month about the `strangers' rule. Hubert also had no clue that these two `gay perverts' had the full backing of one of the finest units in the police department and the support of many others in the rank and file, despite their well-known domestic arrangements. This child had a whole lot of `uncles' and `aunts' with weaponry a lot more sophisticated and dangerous than the length of rope and bare hands Hubert was currently packin'. If the would-be kidnapper thought he had all bases covered, he was about to get the surprising strike-out of his life. 

~~o)0O0(o~~ 

Sarah was playing with her tea set on the picnic blanket a few feet from where Margie was talking with another nanny (actually an undercover police woman with a fake baby in a stroller). The little woman kept a sharp eye on her charge even while engaged in conversation; it was her way. Suddenly, the man they had been waiting for appeared from behind a copse of trees and snatched Sarah right up off the blanket before anyone could stop him. There was supposed to be a cop hiding out in the leafy area, but the stupid rookie had gone to relieve himself in the nearby restrooms and hadn't bothered to call for a replacement. There would be hell to pay on that one later. That idiot would be lucky to stay on the force if Simon Banks had a say in it, let alone ever receive a promotion to anything above a walking beat, ticketing illegally parked cars. (Actually, given the kiss-ass political nature of most police forces, he'd probably become commissioner before he was forty.) 

Filcher took off running with the screaming, kicking and biting child in his arms. The nanny/officer was right on his tail as was, surprisingly given her short legs and pudgy frame, Margie Dupree. The other cops swung into action immediately, deciding the eminent danger to Sarah was more important than their original plan to track the probable kidnapper of Missy Hampstead. So that's how Hubert found out that his perfect plan came up a bit short in the whole ... well ... _perfection_ department. The child molester managed to get to his van, but Teresa Lowell, the female cop impersonating a nanny, Margie, hefting a _meat cleaver_ she had stowed in her `essentials' bag that she always wore on her chest like a frontal backpack, and the entire major crime team, with weapons drawn, were hot on his heels. 

Margie's chest was heaving as she sprinted the last few feet to get within striking range with her cleaver. "Put ... that ... baby ... DOWN!" she yelled between panting breaths. Too little exercise and too much good food had left her quite winded after that little jog through the park, but she was determined that her charge was not leaving with this man, even if she had to split his skull open. The police officers looked at her in awe, but kept their weapons trained on the abductor. Blair was the person to speak calmly to Hubert, making a show of holstering his sidearm and moving a few steps closer to the man holding his terrified child. 

"Mr. Filcher, my name is Detective Blair Sandburg," his soothing tone of voice belied the fury he felt for the man who held his baby girl, but he knew he had to take control of the situation before things got any more out of hand than they already were. Of course, he had half a mind to let Margie go at him with the cleaver, but Sarah might accidentally get cut in the process; he was pretty sure that thought was the only reason the nanny had not struck thus far. 

"I'm Sarah's father," Blair continued softly, careful to use the child's name to personalize her in the eyes of her would-be kidnapper. To the child, he directed, "Hey, Princess, everything's gonna be okay. Mr. Filcher doesn't want to hurt you," then back to Hubert, "Do you, Mr. Filcher?" At that moment, the puppy in the van began to yip loudly, hearing humans outside and wanting to be comforted. The noise startled Filcher, who turned to look, nearly dropping Sarah and giving Blair and Margie the chance to act. They both jumped toward the man, Margie, dropping her cleaver and grabbing the girl by the waist to snatch her quickly away, and Blair, knocking the pedophile off his feet and onto the ground in a tackle worthy of a much larger man the very moment after Margie lunged. The duo couldn't have planned the move better. Sarah was safe and Filcher was cuffed before either could say, "Boo." 

"Get him away from me before I kill him!" Blair shouted to any cop nearby. For a moment they all looked as though they planned to let him do just that, and then common sense and a need to question Filcher about Missy Hampstead prevailed. Megan Conner was the first to react; snarling, she pulled the man up by his hair and proceeded to frisk him for hidden weapons. Finding none, she declared him ready for transport back to the station. 

The van was then opened and searched, revealing the unwittingly heroic little ball of fur whose noises had aided in the rescue. Jim knew the moment Sarah saw the animal that life in the Ellison-Sandburg home was about to be drastically altered. The little girl lunged for the puppy and cradled him lovingly to her chest. The pup nuzzled her happily and licked her face, producing a giggle fit. She looked at Daddy Jim with eyes that could rival that of _any_ puppy, and the animal in her arms, as if on cue, followed her gaze to the sentinel's face and cocked its head. 

Jim looked at Blair, hoping against hope for some encouragement in his desire to say, "No." The younger man was smiling raptly at his happy little girl and her new found friend. Jim knew it was a lost cause. 

"Get this jerk down to the station for questioning, guys," Jim said to no one in particular, sighing heavily. ""Sandburg and I'll be down after we go to the pet store and get some supplies for the new family member." His remarks were met with several chuckles from the nearby cops and a grateful expression from his partner. Margie took Sarah home and the two fathers went to rack up some charges on Jim's master card at the new Pet Smart store in the mall. 

~~o)0O0(o~~ 

The child molester rode uncomfortably in the car with the crazy Aussie and her partner on this case, a large black man who didn't introduce himself, but looked as though he could happily castrate Hubert with a dull, rusty blade and feed him the cut-off body parts. Apparently, the big captain was very fond of the child who had called him `Uncle Joel,' for some reason. How could he have misread the situation so badly? It seemed as though the gay perverts were not only with the police, but were very _popular_ with the officers who had been investigating the Hampstead abduction. This was not going well. They had him now, and Filcher had already heard them discussing questioning him again about Missy. 

The officers could hold him a while on what he'd done today. It wouldn't be long before the cops found out where Hubert lived, and if he strung them along until the girl died of dehydration or hunger, he wasn't sure he'd even make it to trial. If information were somehow leaked to the other jail inmates about what he'd done, Filcher knew he would die horribly. The child molester began to whine in the back seat audibly enough to generate a nasty look from the woman. He quieted and made his decision. Like it or not, he had to give the investigators the information they needed and just hope God was more merciful to him than these cops wanted to be. 

~~o)0O0(o~~ 

Missy Hampstead was found alive and returned to her parents after a short trip to the hospital. Blair had been in on the rescue; he was better with traumatized children than any other cop on the force, even the women. For some reason, kids seemed to innately trust him. So his presence was requested, and he complied. As much as Blair would have liked to have been home to console his own nearly abducted child, he couldn't resist the pull to help another little girl in need. It was a good thing he did, too, considering the state she was in when the team found her. At first, the almost feral child curled in a corner and wouldn't let anyone near her without screaming. Then Blair sat crossed-legged on the floor a few feet from her and began speaking softly. After a few minutes of coaxing and reassuring, the little girl lunged at him and held onto him like she was afraid to let go. He carried her out to the waiting ambulance and rode in with her clinging to him and refusing to let the paramedics touch her. 

The doctors in the emergency room couldn't even treat her at first. The child had latched on to Blair and was not about to let go. She screamed when anyone came too close or tried, God forbid, to take her from the man whom she thought of as her safety net. Finally, the Hampsteads arrived at the hospital. Having been warned about their daughter's condition (or at least what the doctors had been able to ascertain without examining her), and knowing the detective with Missy was the one whose own little girl had almost joined theirs, Jason and Paulette Hampstead entered the ER room where their child had been placed. 

Once little Missy saw her parents, she allowed herself to be removed from the kind man's arms, and her mother held her close. After that, the exam went smoothly, and the child was released to her parents with recommendations for several therapists who specialized in child abduction trauma and molestation treatment. Blair only hoped they had gotten to her in time to give her a chance at recovery. He tried not to think how close his own daughter had become to being one of that monster's victims. If she hadn't said something about Filcher ... he shuddered and pushed such thoughts from his mind. 

~~o)0O0(o~~ 

Jim and Blair had been given a few days off to make sure everything was okay with Sarah. She seemed to be doing remarkably well after her adventure. There had been no nightmares, and the two fathers felt that the child was adjusting better than they were. Between the two men and Margie, it was going to be an overprotective household for quite some time. However, with two Sandburgs on board, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing; with them around anything could, and often did, happen. 

All in all, it had been a positive experience. A sadistic pedophile had been taken off the street, and his victim had been rescued and returned to loving parents who had more than enough money to get her the therapy she would need to recover. The two detectives hoped that Missy would be okay in time, and they were happy that their own little princess was content and safe, often reveling at the antics of her new pet, named Bowser, at Sarah's insistence. Even Huntington Park had decided a little security upgrade was in order. Now, in addition to the gate guards, they had decided to hire extra people to patrol the place at random, looking for anyone targeting children at play. They also instituted a program to confirm the home addresses of those to whom they issued passes into the park. 

With their city a little safer, until the next lunatic crawled out of the wood work, sentinel and guide could take a much needed break and have some quality family time. When the dads tucked their daughter in that night, with Bowser snuggled on the covers at her feet, and both of them sitting down to read her a story, they marveled at how quickly the child fell into a contented sleep. As they left to go to their own room, only Blair noticed the panther and the wolf keeping watch over the slumbering girl while tending to an equally sleeping little wolf pup, nuzzled by the panther's side. "Oh boy," Blair said, as he closed the door on the spirit guide trio and his daughter. 

"What?" Jim inquired with an odd look. 

"I'll tell you later, Jim," he replied casually, with a bit of amusement. "Much later," Sandburg chuckled. He guided his sentinel to their room for a night of lovemaking and needed rest. Talk of the new spirit guide and what it might mean about his daughter's possible shamanic abilities could wait. Tonight, Blair just wanted to reaffirm his devotion to Jim and relish the happiness of their life together. 

The End 

* * *

End 

Her Father's Daughter by PB: shelleybear@earthlink.net  
Author and story notes above.

Disclaimer: _The Sentinel_ is owned etc. by Pet Fly, Inc. These pages and the stories on them are not meant to infringe on, nor are they endorsed by, Pet Fly, Inc. and Paramount. 


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